Ironically, Republicans, on the heels of disappointing losses in the 2022 midterms, are scratching their heads — at a loss for how to win over suburban voters.
Some voices within the GOP say the party should move further left in order to avoid ostracizing “moderates” in suburban communities with “fringe,” far-right ideas.
Such arguments miss the mark. First of all, it’s simply morally disingenuous to water down your true convictions for the sake of political expediency. The political Right should learn how to sell the good and the true to the masses, not sell out the good and true to appease the masses.
Secondly, that line of talking is overly simplistic, wanting us to believe that the kind of unabashed conservatism on the controversial issues that figures such as Trump have advanced are anathema to most voters. If that were true, how did Trump win the White House and Republicans keep their congressional majority in 2016?
Third, the argument that the GOP should not delve into the “far right” buys into the Left’s false narrative. Contrary to what leftists would have us believe, there is no “far right” in the sense that they use the phrase. Everything that is considered “far right” nowadays was simply normal societal values 50 years ago or less. It is the Left that has become radicalized, making the Right seem “radical” by comparison.
Thus, Republicans who make statements to that effect are sabotaging their own side and giving more power to the Left.
What Republicans really need to do is go even further right and deliver true constitutionalism and freedom for the people. If they would go all the way, instead of constantly settling for feckless half measures, they would earn the people’s trust and respect.
And what better way for Republicans to show their spine and deliver much-needed relief for suburban families (and all families) than to give the most significant tax cut in recent history?
Specifically, it’s time to push for the abolition of the property tax.
The property tax represents an undue burden on families. It hits parents hard when they’re working to provide for a household of children. And it is onerous for senior citizens living on a fixed income.
Philosophically, the property tax is totally anti-American and violates the property rights that are such a central tenet of the nation’s founding. The very idea that you can lose your property for not paying a tax to the government is a complete destruction of property rights.
After all, you only truly own something if no one else has any claim to it. You don’t really own your home, for instance, while you still owe the bank for it.
In the same way, so long as Americans are forced to pay property taxes under the threat of having their home and land confiscated, they don’t really own their property. The property tax has reduced us to renters in perpetuity, with the government merely giving us “permission” to stay in our homes so long as we pay them the ransom money.
Getting rid of the property tax would be one of the most popular proposals Republicans could put forward. What homeowner in his right mind wouldn’t want to pay less to the government?
Moreover, high property taxes stifle investment in communities, as those who wish to invest in an area may decide to put their money elsewhere if they see they would be paying an exorbitant amount in property taxes in a given locality. This leads to the decline of property values.
The only question that would inevitably come up is how the government would make up for the lost revenue. The property tax is the main source of income for most local governments, funding schools, roads, and other public services.
Chris Burnam, in a piece for Forbes, argued that vacancy taxes serves as a good alternative to property taxes:
Vacancy taxes are an innovative way to moderate investment speculation in overheated markets and can help deflate investment “bubbles.” (Remember the housing bubble? Property-related bubbles can be dangerous.)
It’s not uncommon for speculators to swoop into a city and scoop up properties. However, some of those investors sit on their investments without doing anything constructive with the properties. In other words, some properties remain vacant for far too long. Vacant offices and apartments mean fewer people are paying taxes that support city and state services. This puts an unfair burden on local residents.
With a vacancy tax, which is paid by property owners, a government entity can recover some of the costs of providing roads, emergency services and other necessities that typically are financed by sales taxes.
Localities can also leverage public authorities, which are public-benefit corporations, for projects such as roads, schools, parks, and infrastructure. Large cities such as New York have long used this method, pioneered by “master builder” (and Republican anti-communist) Robert Moses, because it allows for building through an investment model by which the public-benefit corporation can become self-sufficient and not require tax dollars to run. This is how many of New York’s most famous bridges, tunnels, highways, public facilities, and state parks were built.
And, of course, localities can also make up for the lost revenue from the elimination of the property tax by tightening their belt and ceasing to spend on graft and waste.
